What Is a PACS Server, and How Does SoftDicom Act as One?
It accepts DICOM studies pushed from an imaging console, and holds them for later.
SoftDicom runs a standard DICOM Storage SCP with its own configurable AE Title and listening port, so any standards-compliant console can send to it directly over the local network — and the studies land on the device itself, not on a server somewhere else.
What does a PACS server do?
A PACS server’s core job is to accept DICOM studies pushed from an imaging modality and hold them for later retrieval. It does this by running a DICOM Storage SCP that answers a sending console’s C-STORE request, plus a Verification SCP that answers C-ECHO so the console can confirm the connection first.
That is the whole mechanism. Everything else a PACS product adds — worklists, retention policy, institution-wide access control — sits on top of those two conversations.
Send straight from the console
Add SoftDicom once as a destination on a CT, MR or cath lab console and studies transfer directly over the local network. No CD burning, no export folder, and no separate PACS server in between.
C-ECHO before it sends
The listener answers Verification (C-ECHO), so a console can confirm the association is good before it pushes a study. That is the check most consoles run from their own configuration screen.
Off until you turn it on
The listener is disabled by default and is enabled by an administrator. An optional allow-list then restricts which calling AE Titles are permitted to send to the device.
The study stays on your network
Received studies are written to local storage on the device. Nothing is forwarded onward unless Cloud Backup is separately enabled.
How does SoftDicom receive studies as a PACS server?
SoftDicom runs a standard DICOM Storage SCP with its own configurable AE Title and listening port, so any standards-compliant console can send to it directly. Add SoftDicom once as a destination on a CT, MR or cath lab console and studies transfer straight to the device — no CD burning, no export folder, and no separate PACS server in between.
The listener also answers C-ECHO verification, so a console can confirm the association before it sends. An optional allow-list restricts which calling AE Titles are permitted to send, and the listener is disabled by default until an administrator turns it on.
Listener specifications
Full specification on tech specs.
Where do received studies go once SoftDicom accepts them?
Every study SoftDicom receives is written straight to local storage on the device, not passed through to a separate server. SoftDicom ships in 480 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB capacities, and roughly 5,000 studies fit on the 2 TB model — the device works fully offline once the study has landed, with nothing sent onward unless Cloud Backup is separately enabled.
Does one SoftDicom device replace a hospital’s PACS server?
No — SoftDicom is built to be the PACS server for one device or one lab, not for an institution. Where a whole department or hospital needs a single shared, high-capacity archive across many rooms, that is a different, quoted deployment — see Enterprise and the per-lab model. A hospital PACS still governs institution-wide retention and access separately from any single SoftDicom device, which is the comparison SoftDicom vs hospital PACS sets out in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I send studies from a CT or MR console to SoftDicom’s PACS server function?
SoftDicom listens as a standard DICOM Storage SCP with its own AE Title and listening port, so you add it once on the console as a destination and send studies to it directly over the local network. There is no CD burning, no export folder and no PACS in between.
What AE Title and port does SoftDicom listen on?
Both are user-configurable, so they can follow your existing naming scheme and firewall rules. An optional allow-list restricts which calling AE Titles may send to the device.
Which DICOM transfer syntaxes does it accept?
Implicit and Explicit VR Little Endian, JPEG Lossless, JPEG 2000 and RLE. The listener also answers C-ECHO verification so a console can confirm the association before sending.
Is the listener on by default?
No. It is disabled until an administrator enables it; with it off the device behaves exactly as it always has — fully offline.
Does a received study leave the local network?
No. The listener binds on your own network and the study travels from console to device and no further, unless Cloud Backup is separately enabled.
Does one SoftDicom device replace a hospital’s PACS server?
No. SoftDicom is built to be the PACS server for one device or one lab, not for an institution. Where a whole department needs a single shared, high-capacity archive across many rooms, that is a separate quoted deployment, and a hospital PACS still governs institution-wide retention and access.
Send from the console. Keep it on the device.
A DICOM listener with your own AE Title and port, off until you turn it on.